Onyomi: キ · Kunyomi: お.きる, お.こす, お.こる, おこ.す, た.つ · Meanings: get up, rouse, wake up
Kanji for get up, rouse, wake up
Fast lookup with examples and clean stroke-order visualization.
Experience 起 in 3D! View the complete 3D Kanji model to understand its shape and stroke depth from every angle. Click the button below to see 起 in 3D and explore how each stroke forms this character.
Please support us by sharing!
Find visually similar kanji, commonly confused characters, related meanings, and useful words connected to 起.
The kanji 起 combines the “foot” radical (走) with the “sun” radical (日), symbolizing rising or getting up. In ancient times, it represented the action of standing up or starting a new day. 起 came to mean rise, wake up, or begin, capturing motion, energy, and the start of activity.
A foot rising with the sun — 起 means to rise, wake up, or begin.
Imagine getting out of bed as the sun rises — that’s 起, the kanji for rising and starting.
| Word | Reading | Meaning | Meta |
|---|---|---|---|
| 起こり | おこり | source, origin, cause, beginning, genesis | Noun |
| 起きる | おきる | to get up, to rise, to blaze up (fire) | common JLPT-N5 Ichidan verb, Intransitive verb |
| 起こす | おこす | to raise, to raise up, to set up, to pick up | common JLPT-N4 JLPT-N1 Godan verb with 'su' ending, Transitive verb |
| 起こる | おこる | to occur, to happen | common JLPT-N3 Godan verb with 'ru' ending, Intransitive verb |
| 立ち上がる | たちあがる | to stand up, to get up, to rise (to one's feet) | common JLPT-N3 Godan verb with 'ru' ending, Intransitive verb |
| 起床 | きしょう | rising (from one's bed), getting up, getting out of bed | common JLPT-N2 Noun, Suru verb, Intransitive verb |
| 起源 | きげん | origin, beginning, source | common JLPT-N1 Noun |
| 起訴 | きそ | prosecution, indictment | common Noun, Suru verb, Transitive verb |
| 起因 | きいん | to be caused by, to result from, to arise from, to stem from, to be due to | common Suru verb, Intransitive verb |
| 起用 | きよう | appointment (to a position, job, etc.), being used for a role, promotion | common Noun, Suru verb, Transitive verb |